Jade Legacy

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is going to be a long review and this is the final book of a trilogy, so I won't get into the plot.

What Fonda Lee has done with this conclusion to this series is remarkable. For a little context, I wasn't blown away by the first 2. I definitely saw their merits and they were enjoyable, but I found them to be a little overhyped. I wasn't even sure I was going to pick this up. But I started to see reviews come in about how incredible it was and decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did, because this is definitely one of the best endings to a series I have EVER read.

First off, the undertaking Lee took on by having this book span 20 years is admirable. The way she is able to continuously develop the relationships between the characters, the clans, and the countries while having pretty sizable time jumps is such an incredible feat that I have a hard time wrapping my head around. It seems daunting to go into it, but she makes the information, while complex, digestible in a way that made me feel like I always knew what was going on.

The best part of the book: the characters. I enjoyed the characters in previous books, but in this book, with the amount of time that passed, I really felt such an attachment to these characters that we've seen grow up from young adulthood. Hilo is one of the most well crafted characters I've ever read in a book series. Shae and Hilo's relationship is one of my favorite in the books. They go through so many ups and downs. One of the strongest themes throughout these books is the importance of family. While these people are surrounded by violence and impossible decisions, they always make sure their family is safe. Anden's entire arc is also masterfully created. His relationship to Hilo also felt so real and intense. Ayt Mada is one of the best antagonists in fiction. She is ruthless, but as the reader, you know that if you were reading from her POV, you would think this way about Hilo. No one in this book is “good”. But you still find yourself rooting for the Kaul family.

The plot was slow moving at first, which is fitting considering they were in a “slow war”. However, Lee doesn't let you get bored. There were still incredibly written fight scenes throughout, as well as enough tension between characters to keep you reading. By the end, I was crying so hard I couldn't breathe. I still am feeling emotionally drained and can't stop getting sad every time I think of it. Any author that can get me to feel so strongly for their characters is A+ in my book.

I would recommend this book to literally anyone. This is going on my list of top trilogies of all time.

“The clan is my blood and the Pillar is it's master.”

TW: ableism, alcohol, alcoholism, amputation, animal abuse, assault, attempted murder, blood, bones, branding, cheating, drugs, emotional abuse, fire, gore, gun violence, hospitalization, kidnapping, murder, physical abuse, profanity, prostitution, PTSD, sexism, sexually explicit scenes, sexual assault, suicide, terrorism, torture, violence, war